St. Pete gets new Federal funding for Hurricane Milton damage

As Hurricane Isaias begins to hit the Florida Panhandle, St. Petersburg is receiving new Federal funding to go towards storm relief for homes that are still damaged two years after Hurricane Milton.Eleven-thousand homes in St. Pete were damaged or destroyed.The mayor announced today that $173 million has been allocated to the city, funds that will be used mostly for those who were affected by Hurricane Milton.Over $120 million must be used for housing, including for rehabbing damaged homes and building new ones where no rehab is possible.The mayor says those whose applications have been denied do not have to resubmit, they will be automatically reviewed.It could be four months before applications are processed."Milton was a type of storm we hadn't experienced before," said Mayor Ken Welch. "Within hours of the storm, it damaged thousands of homes and businesses, forced us to shut down water reclamation facilities for the first time, it ripped the roof off Tropicana Field and even sent